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FARMERS are demanding a producer price of $400 per tonne and cash upfront for their grain this marketing season, saying the old system has not been working in their favour. Under the old system the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) collected grain from farmers and paid them later but farmers said they want a new system since there will be increased competition for grain this season as most crops were affected by erratic rains.

Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union president Abdul Nyathi said GMB should offer cash upfront if farmers are to deliver their grain to its depots.

“The maize producer price should be increased to $400 per tonne if farmers are to remain in business. GMB is very important because it’s the national food reserve and should have grain. However, there’ll be other buyers paying cash and farmers will obviously sell to the one with the capacity to pay,” he said.

Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ Union president Wonder Chabikwa said the $390 per tonne offered by the government last season was still viable although the payment modalities should improve.

“We hope private buyers will not take advantage of farmers and buy grain at unviable prices. The Statutory Instrument that was put in place by the government that made it mandatory for buyers to buy grain at $390 per tonne was noble as it protected farmers,” he said.

He said millers and other processors should prioritise buying grain from local farmers first before they import. “Buyers should prioritise local grain. There’ll be less grain on the market and this should be exhausted before buyers can import maize,” he said.

Chabikwa said it was not fair for buyers to fund farmers in other countries.

“Although imports are good, especially during drought, we should not rely on importing food. Maize is a strategic crop and farmers should be supported through good prices and payment modalities for farmers to continue producing the crop,” he said.

Zimbabwe Indigenous Women Farmers’ Association trust president Depinah Nkomo said the producer price should be $400 per tonne.

“We should have cash on delivery system as is done to tobacco so farmers can’t make losses. If we’re not going to get cash on delivery then the price should be increased,” she said.

Nkomo said some farmers have failed to pay loans due to the late payments by the GMB. “Interests will continue to accrue and the farmers will in the end fail to settle the loan and may lose property. The issue of payment modalities should be solved this season,” she said.

Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Joseph Made said the government was in the process of working on the maize producer price and will only announce it after its approval by the government.

“We’ll let farmers know after the price would have been approved by Cabinet,” he said.

Meanwhile, farmers are yet to start harvesting the summer crops as the farming season was late. Most farmers started planting at the end of December unlike the previous years where they would plant in October.

Drought affected crops and about 300,000 hectares of maize were written off as a result of the drought. There have been calls for the government to boost irrigation facilities so farmers can produce crops throughout the year to ensure national food security. – BH24.